Rehoming puppy

[Hellin301]

Please help me.

My puppy is 8 weeks (golden retriever) and I’ve came home today after family were minding him. He was calm enough with them but perhaps overly tired. I was just sitting on the floor beside him - not playing. He came running over and bit the side of my chest; hard. I was in a lot of pain and shouted at him to leave. I wouldn’t have shouted at him if it wasn’t really bloody painful. He wouldn’t listen, I then went to stand up and he grabbed my arm. Again, biting very hard. Harder than he has done before.

I’m covered in bites, which are actually bleeding. I have been working on telling him to leave which he can do, with shoes and clothes but for some reason if he gets a hold of an arm, foot, hand or another body part he will bite very hard and refuses to listen when I tell him to leave.

Someone please help me as that biting is beyond what should be tolerated. I can’t have a puppy that is actively and in my opinion aggressively chewing me to bits. I wouldn’t be so worried if I thought it was play but I actually thought it was aggression as he was growling so loudly.

If this is going to continue to happen I think I need to hold my hands up and say I’m not the right owner for him which will break my heart

@ivfbeenbusy that's absolutely not true. Small breeds are usually kept until 12 weeks, but larger breeds are fine to go at 8 weeks. All of mine have come from reputable breeders (heading up breed societies, judges at Crufts etc.) and all have come to me between 8-9 weeks. With our litter (Pointers) the vet advised 8 weeks. Too late can cause just as many problems as too early.

As others have said it’s completely normal puppy behaviour. They do growl but it is still their attempt at play, usually when overtired or overstimulated. Most gundog breeds are very bitey as puppies.

Your best bet is to try and distract. Keep a toy in your pocket or within reaching distance at all times. Yakers chews, pizzle sticks, antlers, rope toys (you can wet these and put in the freezer for teething relief) all great for detracting from hands/arms/ankles.

We found yelping like a dog made ours worse. He just thought it was a game. The most effective thing we did was to turn our backs and cross our arms, or if that failed eave the room (usually with him trying to nip your legs on the way out!).

Puppy calming music on YouTube also helped, along with swaddling him in a blanket like a baby when we knew he was overtired but wouldn’t settle.

It does get better but will probably get worse first unfortunately. They are a handful and even if you’re prepared it’s difficult to imagine just how much they can wear you down. Our gin and wine consumption definitely increased during the first couple of months.

I’d also recommend training classes (with a qualified trainer rather than someone that does it for a hobby). You can then do a mini training session as a form of distraction which will wear him out and hopefully encourage him to sleep.

Good luck and hang in there. If you are really struggling don’t be afraid to get help from a behaviourist. I think your thread title has resulted in a lot of negative replies but most puppy owners will confirm it’s not easy.

So she's only had him a week and he's nipping (like puppies do) and she's so surprised at this normal behaviour that she wants to rehome a puppy.... after a week?

She's stressed and overwhelmed. I remember feeling exactly the same when we got our puppy. Berating her won't make her feel any better, nor will it encourage her to come back and get more help in the future.

Some people can be incredibly nasty and judgemental on here and it makes for very unpleasant reading.

[quote toastfiend]@ivfbeenbusy that's absolutely not true. Small breeds are usually kept until 12 weeks, but larger breeds are fine to go at 8 weeks. All of mine have come from reputable breeders (heading up breed societies, judges at Crufts etc.) and all have come to me between 8-9 weeks. With our litter (Pointers) the vet advised 8 weeks. Too late can cause just as many problems as too early.[/quote]
We have a Miniature Dachshund and she was sold at eight weeks old by a very reputable breeder who is KC registered, breeds and shows crufts standard dogs and is very responsible.

@toastfiend no idea why it quoted you? Think I pressed the wrong button

He is only a puppy. He's 8 weeks old and not learned bite inhibition. This is something you as an owner need to teach him.

Poor puppy - taken from mum too early, probably from a poor breeder just after money, then taken to a home where they are prepared to give up on him after a week. Posts like this make me so mad! The OP wants sympathy? Well mine is with the puppy!

@lockeddownandcrazy

Poor puppy - taken from mum too early, probably from a poor breeder just after money, then taken to a home where they are prepared to give up on him after a week. Posts like this make me so mad! The OP wants sympathy? Well mine is with the puppy!

Where is your evidence that it was a) taken away too early and b) from a dodgy breeder? OP got the puppy at eight weeks old, and it will be nine weeks old tomorrow, which is perfectly legal and in fact, recommended in many cases.

But don't let that get in the way of you giving her a good bashing to make yourself feel superior

If you use a proper trainer and not a woolly minded behaviourist they will easily stop this. It is not enough to ignore bad behaviour and praise the good! If you do not tell the dog when he is being naughty he will not know. He needs to know right from wrong - praise when is is good and a scolding when he misbehaves - especially where biting is concerned . If he is causing pain at 8 weeks just imagine the problem when he is grown.

I've got a 14 week old sprockerdile so I feel your pain. We have had him long enough now to have worked out the patterns of when and why he is bitey so it's got a bit easier to manage.

Eg if he has been awake longer than an hour and he starts to get nippy he goes into his crate for a nap. We make it all cosy with blankets and a hot water bottle and he always goes straight to sleep and is much better when he wakes up.

When he has his crazy hour in the evenings we find that nothing really works other than keeping him on the floor with lots of toys and chews and not handling him at all. Its impossible to play nicely with him at that time so its just setting him up for failure. Dont sit or lie on the floor or where he can reach.

As well as his chews I give him frozen things to chomp on like a kong that's been in the freezer, frozen veg or an ice cube. I have those little tins of mackerel and I dip them in the juices to make them stinky and appealing sounds gross but keeps him occupied.

Have toys or chews on hand to shove in his mouth when he does bite you. Dont shout, just be calm, clench your fists behind your back and make yourself boring and still. If it's still too much calmly pop him behind a baby gate or in a safe room for a minute. Repeat as often as necessary. Praise him loads for being settled or playing with his own toys.

I had springers growing up and it does get better, there is a certain amount of just having to ride it out and remembering they are just babies. Their mouths are sore and they don't know all the rules of the human world yet. Guide him gently but firmly and he will get there. Good luck!

The puppy phase can be really tough op. Wade through the thread..there is some great advice on here. Good luck and I hope it works out.

@percheron67 he isn’t being naughty. He’s just biting the wrong things. Needs redirecting. That’s all. No scolding required.
Puppies do this.
They grow out of it. A biting puppy doesn’t turn into a biting dog.

[quote Wolfiefan]@percheron67 he isn’t being naughty. He’s just biting the wrong things. Needs redirecting. That’s all. No scolding required.
Puppies do this.
They grow out of it. A biting puppy doesn’t turn into a biting dog. [/quote]
@Wolfiefan - don't rise to it!

When we had our first puppy we could not believe how much he bit and thought we were doing something wrong. We then read information on www.thelabradorsite.com about puppy biting and were very reassured.

We were also recommended on Mumsnet to join the Facebook group 'dog training advice and support'. This has been an absolute life saver

We thought we had read up loads but soon realised how naive we were.

One of the key things we learnt was about puppies getting overtired. This was a game changer for us,

Another we learnt was that it is quite normal to have 'the puppy blues'.

Bloody hard work but you will get through it - a quiet calm place for the puppy to sleep and rest and lots of wine for you!

We have a 10 week old spaniel puppy, always always always have something on you to put in his mouth so he doesn't bite on flesh. It's hard work, I'd forgotten just how hard in the 7 years since our last puppy. I'm half thinking a human baby might actually be easier?

Of course puppies are hard work, and of course they bite.

Your OP was stupidly written, and made it sound like you got pup at under 8 weeks. Your OP got you the responses you got.

Your title is offensive - implying your pup is disposable and that you’re thinking of dumping him within the first week. Your OP got you the responses that you got.

Your ignorant talk of dominance behaviour in a puppy, whilst also saying you’ve done lots of research is ridiculous. Again, your OP got you the responses that you got.

Dear OP - our 13wk springer pup was & is like this. It is a gradual process to get them to moderate their unruly behaviour. First of all, they need to settle in and feel comfortable/safe and loved in their new home, and bond with their humans. Don't be on the floor with them if they're bitey. I wear old fleeces or sweatshirts to handle her, and allow her to mouth me when she's calming down for a sleep - she is learning what is an acceptable pressure that doesn't hurt. If she hurts I replace myself with a chew toy Kong puppy bone works for us, or half a thin carrot that she can chomp on. She has a couple of times a day when she gets overexcited with her toys and will bite, shake them, and growl and she knows she may only do this with her toys - not people or clothing.
For the times when she is over excited or overtired, we give her a calming lickimat with puppy paste on it to lick and it soothes her so she can then calm down. Quiet, and periods of ignoring her help too and she will settle herself for a rest. Four naps a day minimum. Only handle her when she is calm - may only be when she's ready for a sleep at first.
It is difficult, but if you lay down the ground rules and are consistent, they will settle down. Praise calm behaviour and teach 'sit' as soon as you can - lots of treats.

Puppies bite, their teeth are like needles. They bite more when they are tired.

Puppies need sleep. A 9 week old puppy will need about 18 hours of sleep but they’re like toddlers in that they don’t know when they’re tired and won’t admit they’re tired. So you have to make them nap. You need to put him in a bed or crate, away from you. Not cuddling him when he sleeps. When he sleeps, nobody should be disturbing him. You’ll be able to tell when he is normal puppy bitey and overtired puppy bitey. Our lab puppy can do about an hour at a time before we need to put him for a nap again.

Now, normal puppy bitey when they start biting redirect onto a chew or a toy. When playing with him, if he accidentally catches you, release an “ow” and do not play anymore. Everyone in the house needs to do this. The puppy will accidentally catch you when playing with him as they lack coordination but with consistency he will learn his coordination and that biting isn’t acceptable.

The puppy will be teething at about 16-20 weeks. So the biting will become worse again but with consistency you’ll come out the other side. Frozen carrots are great for teething dogs. You said you spent a fortune on chew toys but do you have a variety of textures and tastes? Do you mean you have chew toys or a mixture of chews and toys? Bones, soft toys, teething toys, kongs, rope toys - you need the variety there. It gets easier as they get bigger because they can have more chews, you can start to give them bones or ears and longer lasting chews like antlers. When they are 8-10 weeks old you are quite limited in choice because whilst their teeth hurt like hell, they are still quite delicate.

Puppy years are hard and you’ll probably wonder why you let yourself into this many times between now and when they settle down. One day, and I’m not going to lie - it’ll be about 18 months to 2 years, you’ll look at your dog and they will be best thing ever. Until then, it’s hard work, lots of consistency from everyone in the house. Routines help. Brain work also helps.

He is a HPR - this is what he is bred for. When ours was a pup she ripped sleeve a d drew blood on all of us. HPR pups are not for the faint hearted. Get on a gundog forum, ideally breed specific, where you will get lots of help and advice.

OP this is normal puppy behaviour. Your job is to teach them that they should not do that. My puppy did this until about 20 weeks where it stopped overnight.
If you've left with family and they are overtired they will bite it's just what puppies do.

@CrotchetyQuaver my human baby was a thousand times easier than my bitch as a puppy. He didn't sleep, but he was still easier.

A good behaviour therapist may be your best bet as puppies do bite and it hurts and they would give you best advice on how to improve the situation
Puppies are really hard work

Read your updates OP “it’s that half an hour that I really struggle with. He’s manic“ when he gets older - 6 months you can exercise him properly. He’s a ball of energy right now and he may stay that way for years. Mine finally calmed at age 9, after sustaining a torn cruciate.
Everyone has to start somewhere, a lab is a ALOT of dog. Probably not the best choice for a beginner, I’ve had a few dogs and was not prepared. I did a lot of research too. OP is trying, I think just a bit more dog than what was expected. Give him time OP, he will calm down with the nipping.
I’ve had dogs my whole life and none of them were as bad as my lab puppy for biting and naughtiness.
I had my pup at 11 weeks and he still bit the hell out of me, my kitchen and my concrete patio. As an adult he’s never growled or bit. He is the most loving dog I’ve ever had. Stick with it OP, if it’s just the biting- promise it’ll get better.

Another one here to add to the chorus of -
Your puppy is behaving as should be expected
You sound like you haven’t a clue
You are assuming dominance which is likely to increase your problems
Invest in a dog behavioural advisor ASAP
Or return to breeder ASAP
DO NOT SELL it on -
Poor pup